Community, columnists and conformism: what the world really wants

By the time this is published, I will have turned 18, thus joining the ranks of those the government finally considers having come of age — and if that isn't something to be excited about, I don't know what is.

Ah yes, the beauty of adulthood; filled with the privileges of voting, making my own decisions, not needing my parents to sign a permission form to go rock climbing or buy a house … I wish I were joking, but that happened to me last week.

What I'm trying to say is that a number obviously contributes very little — compared to other aspects of life — toward adulthood. I'd prefer to think it grows with you rather than coming up to meet you one day. But I have had reason to think about becoming a more active member of the community recently, and I've come to realize that I might not be as adept at it as I'd hoped.

For example, when I was looking for ideas for this, my last youth editorial board column, everyone kept suggesting I write about the recent events involving Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, and honestly, my opinion on that could be summarized in less than a paragraph, never mind an entire column.

If you're interested, I have this to say: the problem is less the events and more people's fascination with perpetuating the issue in the media. Additionally, I believe that in any topic, some people's opinions are more valid than others, based on their knowledge of, and connection to, the subject. Mine on this subject is minimal, so my opinion is, for all intents and purposes, highly dismissible.

I realize this is a very roundabout way of expressing my primary concern — that the way I want to contribute to society isn't the way society wants me to, and since becoming a proper adult will allow me to become more of an active member of the community, I want that contribution to be appreciated and validated by those it affects.

But as any of you who have been following my columns throughout the past year — and if you have, thank you, I'm honoured — would know, I've been writing much more about my own life and much less about issues of the day.

And as I've come to consider my place in society, I begin to wonder whether what I've contributed here has at all been valuable to my readers.

Would it have been better to talk about politics or pop culture, or things in general that other people tend to care about, even if I'm not particularly interested in the subject? In short, is it more helpful overall to give the world what it wants, or what I want to give?

That's not to say, of course, that knowledge of what's going on in the world isn't important — but regrettably, it's something from which, stuck in the university bubble as I am, I tend to be isolated. But I am suggesting that contributions toward those topics would be more valuable from a person who is genuinely interested in it.

So does that mean then that people like that are better suited to contributing to the world?

Does the world want me to conform to its self-defined ideal? Is coming to terms with this what growing up really means?

My answer is a resounding no. If my inner ramblings throughout the year have resonated with one person who's read them, then I've done my job. And even if not, I'm happy to have these thoughts and be able to share them.

The way I see it, that's what community is all about, right?

It's been a privilege writing for the youth board, and cheers to anyone who's had as inspiring a year as I have. In a year from now, I'll drink to that.

Alana Rangaswamy of Kitchener is a student at Queen’s University in Kingston.